6 to 8 pita breads or smaller leaves from 2 romaine hearts (for both this and the Hummus)

Directions

Puncture the eggplant skin in a few places and roast in a shallow pan with the onion in a 400˚F oven until the eggplant is thoroughly soft. Remove and set aside until cool enough to handle. (This can be done a day or two ahead and refrigerated.)

Split the eggplant lengthwise and carefully scrape all the flesh away from the skin. Discard the skin and chop the flesh finely. Split the onion, discard the skin and any burnt parts, and chop finely.

Combine the oil and garlic in a large skillet and heat until fragrant. Add the chopped onion and cook 2 minutes, adjusting the heat so the garlic does not brown. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the tahini, lemon juice, and eggplant and season to taste with salt and white pepper. If you want a smoother texture, transfer the mixture to a food processor and process to a chunky purée.

Serve at room temperature with pita wedges or romaine leaves.

Yield

Makes 8 appetizers

Good to know

Even people who don’t like eggplant seem to go for this smooth, rich-tasting eggplant purée, as a dip for pita wedges or inner leaves of romaine.

This menu combines some of the favorite dishes of the lands of the eastern end of the Mediterranean. While religion prevents many residents of the region from drinking beer, their cuisines still provide us with lots of beer-friendly foods; not surprising, since this is where humans first cultivated grains thousands of years ago, and first converted them into something we would recognize as beer.